James Goldstein, a retail analyst with CreditSights Inc., predicted last week that retail store closures will peak within the first six months of 2010.

Those closures will be in addition to the loss of 69 million square feet of retail space stemming from a series of bankruptcies and liquidations that began in 2008, Women’s Wear Daily reported.

The lost retail space due to closures is the “equivalent of Macy’s (Inc.) shuttering half of its stores,” Goldstein said.

“Expectations for the holiday season have been set fairly low,” Goldstein told an audience at the CreditSights conference in New York. He cited an Ipsos/Reuters survey conducted in the spring that indicated 73 percent of consumers said they would reduce their luxury purchases and 66 percent would cut back on apparel.

Citing the best balance sheet going into the downturn, Goldstein said Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. is expected to be among the first of the luxury retailers to recover.

And Macy’s, which was under pressure earlier this year, has since “stabilized,” he said. But that retailer will face tough mid-tier competition from discount stores such as J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Kohl’s Corp.



TheStreet.com reported recently that Kohl’s and Target Corp. last month announced plans to open a total of 63 new stores in October.